Discount coupons have long been distributed by manufacturers to market their products and by retail stores to attract consumers to their particular stores. For decades advertisers have issued coupons that can be taken to a redemption center, such as a retail store, and redeemed for some value or at a discount toward the purchase of an item.
In general, a marketing professional analyzes the market for a particular product or service. The analysis may include many factors including, for example, inventory, age of the product on hand, competitor pricing, and manufacturing costs. Based on the analysis, a decision is made on whether or not a discount coupon should be issued. If it is decided to issue a coupon, the value of the coupon is determined. If the value of the coupon is set too low, the customer may not be motivated to purchase the product. If the value is set too high, the amount of profit from the sale may be unacceptable. A discount coupon may be printed and distributed to perspective customers. The customer may then redeem the coupon for the determined value when purchasing the product or service.
One problem with conventional discount coupons is that there may be a considerable time delay from when the value of the coupon is set and when the coupon is redeemed. This time may range from months to years for coupons shipped with products. During the time between when the value of the coupon is set and when the coupon is redeemed, the market for the product may change. Changes in the market may result in the value of the coupon being less than optimal. One method of solving this problem commonly used by advertisers is to specify an expiration date for the discount. Setting an expiration date on a coupon has its drawbacks as well. If the time the coupon is valid is too short, the coupon may expire before it has had a chance to be effective in the market. If the time the coupon is valid is too long, the market may change resulting in the value of the coupon being less than optimal.
Another method of solving the time delay problem is implementing faster distribution technologies, for example, issuing coupons electronically over the Internet. This reduces the time delay from when the coupon value is set to when the coupon is available to a customer; however, there may still be a time delay from when the coupon is available and when the purchase is made. Additionally, this solution may only be valid if the potential customer can be targeted using the faster distribution method.
What is therefore needed is a method, which overcomes the above disadvantages.